Wednesday 30 November 2016

The Magic of Bath Christmas Market

Entrance to Bath Christmas Market with title textI have never been to Bath. I had an idea in my head that it was quite tricky to get to on public transport, so I've never got around to it. When I was invited to a blogger event with Visit Bath, to visit the Bath Christmas Market, however, I thought it was time to put on my big girl pants and have a go. How wrong I was! The city is really well served for buses and they run every half an hour from the town centre, and various other points around the surburbs, such as Parkway Station and Cribbs Causeway. The journey does take up to an hour and a half, but at £6.50 for a day rider, it's a very easy, low cost way to travel, with no concerns about parking, either. You can enjoy some lovely scenery, with no traffic worries and know there isn't a huge gap between buses if you miss one! 
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Wednesday 23 November 2016

Christmas Gift Guide: Older Relatives

True Company Light Therapy units and title textIn the third of our Christmas Gift Guide series, I have been thinking about gifts for the older people in our families. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, perhaps even neighbours. This is such a difficult gift to get right, because you are talking about people who have lived for quite a long time and so will already have quite a lot of the things they want or need. However, if you are still buying gifts for these people, they are probably very important to you and have most likely been a part of your life for a long time, so choosing a gift that reflects that is not to be taken lightly. If you're completely stumped, hopefully these gift ideas for older relatives will get you out of trouble!
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Tuesday 22 November 2016

Living With Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. A Guest Post by Chloe


A woman holding a baby with title text overlaidIn our occasional series, Hidden Illnesses, we invite guests to talk about the illnesses that effect them, particularly those that aren't obvious on the outside. We hope to help sufferers and their families learn about the conditions and what they can do to help. Today, Chloe, from Life Unexpected, talks about the little known condition Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and how it has affected her life. Life Unexpected is a family lifestyle blog that follows a millennial mum. With posts about world travel, life with a toddler, general parenting and life as a working mum. 

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Friday 18 November 2016

Men's Wood Watch Review with Jord Watches


Men's wood watch, in lidded wooden box with title text overlayedThis year the husband has a pretty big milestone birthday. He has been dropping various hints, such as moaning more and being even grumpier about the weather and other old man-type complaints. This is how we remember that he is getting that little bit older and, with that, comes a problem. Over the years he has collected all manner of male gifts and knick-knacks and each year, we find it harder to think of the perfect gift. I bought him a sat-nav, which he argues with, and a tablet, which just seems to give him better access to the football scores he would probably be better off not knowing about, so this year I wanted to go for something more traditional. Fortunately, along came Jord with a fabulous array of men's watches for me to choose from to review. How serendipitous is that?
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Wednesday 16 November 2016

10 Lies I've Told my Children (republished)


Boy on wooden horse outside, with title text overlayed
When your little bundles of joy first arrive in the world, you probably make the same promises that most new parents do. To love them, protect them, be patient, be kind and an overall perfect parent. It can't be that hard, surely? Look how small and cute they are! There's no way you will ever want or need to do anything else other than gaze at your new amazing creation. Then it happens. They grow. They learn to talk and move around, at speed, in directions you'd rather they didn't. They learn to memorise adverts and the toy pages of the Argos catalogue. Those first few moments of solitude before they discovered the full capacity of their lungs are a lifetime away as you think up ever-more inventive ways to outwit the little angels.
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Thursday 10 November 2016

FInding a Photographer in Bristol with Bidvine


Graphic of the Bidvine App
It's been bothering me for a little while that I do not have a really good profile picture. This might not sound like a big deal, but, being a blogger, I use social media A LOT, and get just a tiny bit jealous of some of the more professional profile pictures I see. Where the lighting is flattering and they are taken from a better angle by someone who has a clue what they are doing. It might sound a bit vain, but when you see your face all the time, as part of your day, you want it to be a good one! So, I've often wondered what it would cost to get a few professional shots done. So, when Bidvine asked me to try out their service, which puts consumers in touch with professionals, it was a great time to test it out!
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Christmas Gift Guide: Teenagers


Tiny camera with snowman graphic and title text overlayedOne of the trickiest groups of people to buy for at Christmas has to be older children, who have got to an age where they know what they want and aren't impressed anymore just because it's shiny or makes a funny noise. Once they reach their teens, all they seem to want is tech, tech, tech. Or, clothes with labels that defy the laws of punctuation and grammar. If it's not designer, expensive, or in constant need of charging, it's not going to cut the mustard. Money is sometimes tight, though, so we've put together a list of alternative gifts, that replace the obvious with the imaginative. Because, sometimes, the best gift is one you didn't even know you wanted. 
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Wednesday 9 November 2016

A Guest Post on Tantrums, by Tracey from One Frazzled Mum


When your children get older, like mine have, it's easy to get wrapped up in the new challenges life brings and forget how tricky things could be when little ones roamed the household. Sometimes I think we need a little reminder that the grass isn't always greener and, ok, toddlers don't answer back, or hog the remote, or argue with you about the benefits of having their own Youtube channel, but not being able to formulate an argument brings its own problems. As documented by Tracey, who is guest posting today, from One Frazzled Mum. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 
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Tuesday 8 November 2016

A Christmas Gift Guide Blog Linky for the Best Gift Ideas!

 Welcome to the #ChristmasGiftGuide linky, the place for bloggers to link up their gift guides and wish lists for the festive season. The 2016 Christmas Gift Guide Linky makes it really easy to get all of your gift inspiration in one place! Mo, from Adventures of a Novice Mum, and I, are hosting this linky and welcome any current gift guides to provide inspiration and ideas for Christmas shopping. The #ChristmasmasGiftGuide linky will be open from Friday 11th November until Monday 5th December.
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Scruffs Workwear: Warm and Comfortable Jacket


Lady modelling jacket with title text overlayed
For ladies who do a manual job outdoors, it can be really hard to find hardwearing, comfortable clothing, suitable for the environment you work in. There are lots of options for men, but not so many for women. In fact, and I'm not sure if it might be a reflection on our society, but if you search for 'women's workwear' online, you get an awful lot of results giving options for outfits for the office. Not quite, sexist search engines! So, when Scruffs Workwear offered to send me one of their jackets to review, I was really happy to oblige, as it seems this area of necessary apparel has been a little bit overlooked. Obviously, workwear isn't just ideal for those who do a manual job, it's perfect for dog walking, rambling and other outdoor pursuits where a warm, robust exterior is essential for your comfort.
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Monday 7 November 2016

Boohookids: Review of the New Range


Boohoo has been a familiar name in online fashion for many years. Originally launched in 2006, the website had a relaunch in 2010. Since then, popularity has continued to grow, leading to the introduction of boohooMan in 2013. In October this year, though, boohoo decided to bring fashion to a younger audience and produced a range of children's clothes, with everything you could require to dress your youngsters from onesies to winter coats and everything inbetween. As an online seller, how easy is it to choose clothes, compared to high street stores and how do they compare? We were given a voucher free, so that we could let you know how we got on. This is our review of the Boohoo Kids range.
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Wednesday 2 November 2016

Win Your Christmas Gifts with our Epic Giveaway, worth Over £900!!

This is my favourite time of year. I work hard on my blog and love running giveaways. It makes me happy, it makes you happy, it's a win-win (excuse the pun!). So, here it is, the culmination of a year's worth of blogging, my fantabulous, amazing, awesomely spectacular, Christmas giveaway. Where you can win a £900 contribution to your Christmas gift shopping. I've tried to think of everyone you might need to buy for, to give you a big head start on the most stressful buying challenge of the year. Many of the items will also be featured in our gift guides, which we will be posting and adding to throughout the coming weeks, so look out for those. The Rafflecopter is a bit bigger than usual, in order to support all the companies that have helped make this competition a reality. Here's a rundown of everything you could win. Try to contain your excitement, we don't want the neighbours complaining! 
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Christmas Gift Guide: Brilliant Presents for Children


Boy opening Christmas gift with title text overlayedThis is the first of a series of gift guides I have planned, featuring some lovely gifts that I've either been sent to try and have put through their paces, or that we've bought and used ourselves. We will be covering the trickier friends and relatives to buy for, but thought we would start with the gifts that probably get the most spent on them. There are a wealth of options for children these days, certainly if you pay attention to the TV adverts that multiply at this time of year, but what to choose? This children's Christmas gift guide should give you some ideas beyond the obvious and predictable, featuring video showcases from L on his favourite items. We will add to this post as we find more things we love!
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